In the wake
of the tragic events of Sept. 11, a group of graduate and undergraduate
students from the University of Illinois at Chicago will participate
in a video conference with a group of students from the Palestinian
Birzeit University located on the West Bank in Ramallah. A live
audience will observe.

The program,
titled "Students Talking to Students," will feature faculty members
and eight to 10 students from each university asking questions of
each other.

"The hope is
that we are able to spark a meaningful dialogue," said Lennard Davis,
head of the UIC English department. "We hope that through our conversation
we can reach, if not agreement, at least consensus."

Davis developed
the idea of the teleconference with his wife, Bella Mirabella, a
professor at New York University. NYU organized a similar program
recently with the American University at Cairo.

Davis plans
to develop a template or a kit of the "Students Talking to Students"
program to make it available to other universities. He would like
to see this pilot program expanded to include future conferences
and team-taught video courses composed of UIC and Birzeit students.

"We have much
to learn from the Palestinian students, and they have much to learn
from us," said Davis "We expect both sides to change preconceptions
and come away with better understanding. Ultimately, that is what
the university experience is about."